true devotion, the five hour pie, & cold toes

this is a bit of a random post. but, since it is technically after midnight as i’m typing this, that’s okay – qualify it as a random thought thursday, wouldja?

it’s also okay that i am baking a pie right now, my very first strawberry rhubarb to be exact. my grandma Francek’s recipe. i try to remember my sweet, loving grandma in all the best ways possible. by always being stubborn when i know i’m right, and by trying to make her most delicious homemade foods. we have enjoyed spaghetti pie, i’ve yet to learn about how to really make her bread, and tonight i’m attempting her homemade strawberry rhubarb pie.
it has so far taken me five hours. because i made homemade crust too. and because i shopped twice for the rhubarb, and the checkout dude didn’t know what it was when i bought it. win win. let’s pump some knowledge up in heeeeere.
now, i’m not a baker. but i yearn to bake pies. all kinds of pies. i would love it to be a relaxing, mellowing type of baking.  the flour, the wistful thinking, the apron that is so dear.
ENTER::The Pioneer Woman
she, The Pioneer Woman, is a blogger. big time. has two cookbooks, and a TV show with the Food Network.
me, i am a blogger. little peanuts. have three cookbooks(that i didn’t author), and have a TV, and no cable currently.
we, TOGETHER, will teach me how to stop being such a klutz with dough, crust and meringue (whatever exactly that is).

i’ve already told you about how i cooked 4 lbs. of macaroni noodles while trying to make PW’s homemade mac and cheese. that folks, is CLASSIC babs (me).  right?

but, alas tonight, i was willing to forget said flub of recipe, because i forgot to buy the box of crust to make the pie. oy vey. another CLASSIC babs move.
and, since my toes are about 21 degrees below zero at the moment, when i realized this (it’s only because in Michigan, you can get sunburned one weekend, and worry about your plants dying due to frost TWO weekends later!), i decided that a trip to the store was out of the question. plus, sometimes after a long commute home, i’m lazy.
the true devotion part: i just finished listening to the book True Devotion by Dee Henderson on CD in my car(oh, i hope that’s her name, the CD book thing is in my car and i’m serious – it is LEGITIMATELY freezing outside), not only do i know i earned cool points telling you i am making my dad proud with B.O.CD’s , it made me think of rl.
because, the real reason that i’m up this late mom, is that i needed to use the rhubarb (it spoils kinda quickly), & i love pie, & i love rl.

now that, is true devotion – braving the elements, lack of sleep, and of course tasting it first to make sure i don’t poison him!  and his true devotion to me is cleaning the kitchen mess with no dishwasher.

the end.

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by beforeverlovely on May 17, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in foodie, just for giggles, random thought thursday
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Posted by beforeverlovely on May 17, 2012

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words of the mother – give away – WINNER

 

 

** this giveaway is now closed.  the winner is amanda! since i will be seeing you in a few days friend, i’ll bring it with me.  i was not sure how to get the little random.org generator on here, but amanda was number 1 literally, and as the winner!  :)  hopefully some new giveaways will happen in the near future, so stay tuned – it’s so fun to give gifts away!  **

 

 

 

before i thought up of be forever lovely, there was a super cool chick that loved people, and loved peace.

she said this:

“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.” Mother Teresa

and every day since my idea for this be forever lovely movement began, i’ve wanted to do just that. leave it all lovelier. the people, the places, the situations.

i don’t have all the answers like most mothers do, and i don’t have all the words for the answer to what my mother and the other mothers i love mean to me.

sure, i’ve messed up.  some may be able to call me a hypocrite.  (myself included).  i may not always be able to be forever lovely all the time.

but, no matter the hour, nor the location, nor the stresses or joys, i will seek to LIVE this statement that the eloquent mother of us all has spoken.

Mother Teresa, you had it right.

Better, Happier.

Happy Mother’s Day to everyone.

and as a gift from me to you, please leave a comment below for your chance to win this:

a handmade typewriter change purse from Aubrey Plays, that i was supposed to give away for my 2 year blogiversary. (whoops it’s already May!)

also, because Aubrey is a kind blogger and handmade shop owner, she said my readers can use the code MRSFRIDAY for 20% off in her shop!

consider it a gift for Mother’s Day, for being happier, and being better.  the only rule is that you leave me your email address.  OH!  and that you try to abide by Mother Teresa’s words above.  thanks.

(if you want to earn one extra entry, mention this on twitter, or facebook, and share it with me on twitter (@beforeverlovely) , or be forever lovely fb page, and you will earn another chance to win this beauty).  and let me know if you do, okay?  :)

**this was something i purchased to give away.  this giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada only.  the giveaway ends on 5/15 at 11:59 p.m. EST.  the winner will be announced here on the blog.**

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by beforeverlovely on May 10, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in be forever lovely, handmade, kindness, sharing
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Posted by beforeverlovely on May 10, 2012

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random thought thursday:: why linner edition

Steak Sandwich picture courtesy of The Pioneer Woman

1.  we have brunch.  it’s great, and when my older sister worked at casa lupita (may it rest in delicious best-Mexican-food-ever peace), we rocked out a few family brunches.

2.  we have a “late” lunch.  huh?

3.  we have an “early” dinner.  wah?

4.  why do we not have a linner? 

PEOPLE, I AM STARTING A REVOLUTION :: & IT IS CALLED LINNER!

5.  why, you ask?  because we can’t just treat brunch like it’s the queen bee of meals, and treat linner like the leftover forgotten about the now cold appetizer from last night’s party that you were supposed to wrap up, or clean up (yuck).

6. i like to eat, and i’d like to invent a time-table meal.  as in, too late for lunch? just in time for linner.  no time for table settings and fancy desserts?  linner is your winner winner, chicken dinn-whoops!  see, already mistreating the poor old gal.

7.  because for the umpteenth recipe that you’ve printed/”pinned”/pined over on your sister-in-law’s neighbor’s blog, you just want something NOW.

8.  linner can solve the problem of what’s for this time that is slightly before dinner or a smidge after, or in my case, my-love-works-a-completely-different-time-than-i-and-i-don’t-wanna-eat-alone time?  in the case of linner, i can rock out a linner appropriate outfit, and invite some pals, ala Sex and the City with a simple “linner y’all?”  group text.

9.  btw, I am the Carrie (just cuz of the fabulous frizzy hair).  Smile  without all the HBO-rated stuff, and because occasionally i wear ridiculously colorful outfits.

10.  because right now, my stomach is grumbling, and linner is sounding faboosh!

11.  because it just sounds cool.  and at linner, you can drink a mojito or gingerbeam, and no one will judge you, since it’s after noon, and before dinner.  (in case you’re into that kinda thing).

linner for peace, linner with friends, linner forever!

ps.  when i asked rl what should i use as a photo for linner, he said without hesitation:  steak sandwich.  may it be noted that i’ve never made him a steak sandwich and now feel obligated to live up to Pioneer Woman’s unrealistic goals for my honey’s appetite.  oh  boy, here we go!

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by beforeverlovely on May 1, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in foodie, just for giggles, random thought thursday
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Posted by beforeverlovely on May 1, 2012

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little green heart

♥
i want LOVE to grow here.
i want UNDERSTANDING to sprout up everywhere.  i want FORGIVENESS to ripen within everyone’s hearts.

i want HUMILITY to take root in all that we speak.  i want HUMOR to multiply, and help with those threatening times of uncertainty, but not at ANYONE’S feelings or cost.  i want RESPECT to bloom forth as if no effort was mustered, as it just organically came about, simple, and easy.  i want hate to perish.  FOREVER.  for every reason that it exists.

and mostly, i just want everyone to CHERISH each other.  As humans, as brothers and sisters in this world.  Regardless of genus, kingdom or phylum.  we are all the same breed, every kind of us.  we are human. ♥

3 Comments
by beforeverlovely on April 28, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in gardening, kindness
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Posted by beforeverlovely on April 28, 2012

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dear world

dear world,

this is how i feel about us today.  Thanks Aubrey Plays .

1 Comment
by beforeverlovely on April 27, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in be forever lovely, music, sharing, universal
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Posted by beforeverlovely on April 27, 2012

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2 years blogging :: i am who i am :: pieces

& now the pieces:

sometimes i still cry when my friends tell me that they are pregnant. for the friends’ joy, for my own sadness, for the sadness of friends and family that haven’t had that joy yet. but, my tears dry. and the joy shines through. i have a kid. her name is alex reese. and she is more than ANY parent could ever ask for.

sometimes, i want to tell my friends that are so busy with toddlers, and teething, and crappy diapers and sleepless nights, that i’m just a phone call away, and that if i could afford to drive to their houses, and give them a break, (even for an uneventful trip to Target), that that is what i’d do all day. but, life is not as easy as wishing.  because i don’t know how to help those friends and family from here. i call at all the wrong times. i say stupid things that make them angry with me. i frustrate them, they {that have the corporate world figured out} and me, well, me that hasn’t figured out much.

but, here is what i have figured out:

i have depression. i fight it every single day, and without medicine, as it doesn’t bode well with my mind. i have it worst in the dark days of fall and winter. but, i’m determined to keep going in this life, until my last day, as hard or beautiful as this life may be. depression will not run my life. i will.

i have a man that loves me so perfectly that he tells me to open my etsy shop and fail, as long as I AM HAPPY WITH WHAT I MAKE, WHO CARES WHAT ANYONE ELSE THINKS. he built me a craft table, and is trying to help me with my dream chasing. i feel like how successful i am with my etsy shop and this blog determines what good i can do in the world = if i make some money, i can buy blue bears farm, and alex reese can live her dreams, and rl can retire, and live his dreams, and we can help kids with our dream. i MAY fail, but damnit, what a waste if I didn’t TRY.

rl knows that my life in love is perfection. with him. with alex reese. with God. with my family & friends. not every day. but almost every single one. almost all the days are finished with “Thank you God for this man, and this child, and this life.”

but, even with his backing, and the support and questions from friends, the child of God in me, the artist in me, doesn’t know if i’m doing anything right.

when i write, when i create, i do it because i have to get it out. i write it down, because if i don’t, it is lost.

my friend ashley was killed by a drunk driver when we were three days from graduating high school,

from that, i learned that i never want to regret a minute. a second. of any day.

so i keep trying to make good, to keep doing what i think will be great. to use my voice, to utilize my skills. yes, i can work a day job (present job is holding steady at 24 + months).

but what is it that i am really seeking to do?

make the world better, make sure that alex reese’s great-grandchildren have a world left. happier. smiley-er. simpler. more loving. and to do so without harming each other, the earth, (let’s make sure the animals aren’t extinct). call me a hippy. call me a weirdo, a freak, crazy (you wouldn’t be the first). call me a democratic liberalist goon. i prefer babs or barbie or barb. but whatever you call me, please be nice. because i’m sensitive.

i just want to be happy.  losing some weight will help.   i’m working on the weight loss, and finding a job that i love so much, it’s not a job. mostly, i want us all to be happy. and if i can make it easier or better somehow, then i will. but please, treat me, treat your co-worker, treat the person behind the fast food counter, the janitor, the boss, the babysitter – treat them all the same. treat them as a human, who has a heart. and feelings, and stresses and worries. be polite. LISTEN TO THEIR STORY, & YOU MIGHT REALIZE WE ARE MORE ALIKE THAN DIFFERENT.

so i’m here. i don’t know what the hell i’m doing, but i’m here. how can i help? can i set up a fundraiser for your sick niece? write a thoughtful poem for your grandmother’s birthday? design an invite for your retirement party? teach you how to use Microsoft Word? just need a listening ear?

i’m open to suggestions as to how to get my life’s dreams (opening blue bears farm – to help kids after school that have no where to go, work with animals, create art, do woodworking, learn about automobiles, motorcycles, get tutoring, etc.), going. because right now, i’m in a hole. and i’m not sure where my lamp is. and what makes me feel great is helping. i am who i am. just me. trying to help.

so, how can i help? i just want to help.

♥♥♥

5 Comments
by beforeverlovely on April 23, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in blue bears farm, gardening, handmade, journey, kindness, spilling over
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Posted by beforeverlovely on April 23, 2012

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2 years blogging:: i am who i am :: bits

this little blog is two years old today.  here’s my life bits:

me:  i’d die for any of my family, which includes my friends.  i love the MSU spartans.  i watch sports.  i love weddings.  i dance to songs with beats, and songs that require you to close your eyes.  i curse (not as much in the last 7 years), i garden terribly.  i love jim beam & ginger ale.  i call them gingerbeams.  i love color.  i’d rather be in nature than any mall, no matter the weather.  i’m clumsy as the day is long.  i crave paint, and sunsets, and rainstorms.  i weigh too much.  i love indie films, and finding nemo.  i think the character sheldon from the big bang theory is a hoot.  i miss playing soccer.  i should probably have another knee surgery to fix my cartilage.  i am not a sahm. (stay at home mom). i am not a natural kid mom. i am a stepmom. in fact, if we are to get technical, and let’s just be real here, i’m a stepmama not by law yet, but by heart. full-consuming-love-for-my-kid-heart for the last (almost) 7 years.  i cry A LOT.  judge me if you want, won’t be the first, won’t be the last.

kids{{alex reese}}:  i love my kid just as much as you love yours. whether your kid came from africa, your uterus, or a stranger who made the hardest decision of their life.  however you got your kid, it’s your kid.  let’s just get that straight right now. they give you joy, they ask you questions that you can’t begin to answer without laughing/weeping, they furiate you with their “whatever” eye rolls. they use markers inexplicably on the carpet while you boil their macaroni noodles.  they make mistakes. so do you. they love you.  they hate you (sometimes).  they are your kids.

but alex reese, she is my sweetest word.
she is my loveliest pride.  i have known and loved her since the teeny handprints of 4 1/2 years old.  she knows when to turn on the charm, and ask me something if her dad says no. (which, let’s be honest here, he doesn’t quite ever say no to her).  she doesn’t know that i’ve cried a thousand tears to figure out how to make her know what a special, beautiful child she is to have changed a heart, challenged a question, and wrought a decision that has brought peace.  it isn’t always easy, but i’m pretty sure that there is not a book titled: step-parenting for dummies out yet.

1. my kid is my world.

2.  i don’t get to see my kid all the time, and can’t explain the raw emotions that this elicits, but just always know it’s there.  i think of her happiness and how to make sure she is a valued girl, who knows love,  and most days i worry about her only about 1000 times.

3.  she knows this.

relationships:  i am a girlfriend.  but i wasn’t for the first part of my life.  i’m not embarassed.  i held out for a reason.  i wanted real love.  i think everyone deserves it, i believe it will happen to those to give love.

style:   i don’t do outfit posts, because frankly, i don’t have extra money to buy any of that stuff, most of my style is from gifts, thrifting, or from my college over-spending.  i’m kinda a cowgirl, hippy, rockstar wannabe with a love affair with sterling silver.  and, i hate pictures of myself.

homemaking:  i can’t cook worth a darn unless i follow (hopelessly) a family recipe, and then just scramble through, as more than likely i forgot the extra ingredients.  i once cooked 4 lbs. of macaroni for a Pioneer Woman recipe.  it said 4 cups. i’ve never laughed so hard, and been more sick of eating macaroni.  let’s not talk about cleaning, (well, i AM working on it).

hobbies:  i ride a motorcycle (on the back, and, no, i don’t weigh a buck ten, add a few kilos or several dozen pounds to that). i have my own jacket.  i like slow country roads, with sunbeams, crooked trees & the occasional moo.  i have my own fly fishing pole, and i don’t go as often as i’d like, but i will.  i watch the kardashians, but more because i love their sister relationships, i have two sisters of my own. (well, actually since i consider my girlfriends sisters, i have about 14, some of whom have known me since diapers).  i prefer the natgeo channel.  i lived without cable or tv for a year.  i watched lots of dvds.  it wasn’t so bad.

rl:  we’ll get married when he asks my dad for my hand. in our own time.  you can ask and i’ll politely tell you a joke about ‘when he asks’, but yes we want to. and yes we live together.  and he is absolutely my best friend.

jobs:  i’ve held several jobs none of which have entered my heart as “it”.  i worked hard and finished my degree – it took years.  but i have it, and no one, NO ONE can take that away from me.

success:  i have many, many friends who are more successful on paper than i.  sometimes, (LOTS) it is hard.  that’s life.

but i have alex and rl’s love.  and my family’s.  and my friends.  so that’s like a MILLION times more successful than i thought i’d EVER be. i have learned that in order to believe in my own success, i have to stop giving a dern what other people think MY success should look like.

rl doesn’t doubt me, he sees what my heart says:  LOVE ALWAYS, BE TRUE.

living:  we have a rental house in a small town.  it’s quaint, and the perfect size.  for now.  i want to own a farm, and have animals (sheep, goats, chickens, a cow, at least three dogs, etc., and a few barn cats = don’t worry mom, i’ll always have benadryl on hand for you).

♥♥♥

2 Comments
by beforeverlovely on April 22, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in alex reese, blue bears farm, faith, gardening, handmade, journey, sharing, spilling over
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Posted by beforeverlovely on April 22, 2012

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be the light

i don’t know why, but this phrase is sticking to my ribs lately:

be the light.

please let me know if you know how it applies to me, and how to increase my bank account numbers with it. (not trying to get rich, just trying to get by).

peace my friends,

blf

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by beforeverlovely on April 19, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in faith, sharing, spilling over
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Posted by beforeverlovely on April 19, 2012

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random thought thursday: celebrity dinner party

the guest list:
zooey deschanel  :  drew barrymore  :  jessica simpson  :  tori spelling  :  the pioneer woman  :  ellen page  :    wanda sykes  :  kate hudson  :  keri russell  :  liv tyler  :  whiney cummings  :  reese witherspoon  :  maya angelou  :  lauren graham  :  melissa mccarthy  :  jewel  :  sheryl crow  :  sherri shepherd  :  amy poehler  :  ellen degeneres  :

we’d talk about being famous, paparazzi, & how we hate when US Weekly compares us with Who Wore It Best.

i’d serve something scrumptious from pw’s cookbooks, simple. homemade. devine.

we’d retire to my moroccan themed patio, and sip on mojitos ( i mean diet mojitos), joking about how nice it is that our nannies could watch the kids/dogs/iguanas for the week, while we perused the sites of diane von furstenberg, anthropologie & nordstrom, buying up a storm, not a thought to the prices. & how karl lagerfield really needs to lay off on the tanning situation.

then, as we tweeted & clucked the night away, they would tell me how wonderful it is to have such a down-to-earth friend.  one who can shimmy with the best, & still loves a good campfire in the chimenea, and have i met their trainer yet?  he is the BEST.

we’d give hugs & promises to return to tori’s house for a reunion sooner-rather-than-later, & we’d discuss how to keep in touch better.

if only i were a celebrity, & these women could be my friends (*oh, and i may need to be famous, and live in nyc, la or another faboosh city).

sure, i might have a better warddrobe, a personal chef (heck, i’d settle for a dishwasher), a shoe collection worthy of a museum.

BUT:

i’d have to eat less carbs.  DEAL OVER RIGHT THERE–>NOBODY MAKES BABY EAT LESS CARBS BUT BABY.

i wouldn’t have stories about going to eat in our pj’s on a lady sunday afternoon, countless laughter fits about who-only-knows-what, & pics of us in dozens of bathrooms this side of the mississippi where we curiously covered our double chins (okay, that was just me).  i wouldn’t know their stories, inside & out, of first loves, of boys that should be banned from memories, cars that were dangerously cool, & late night study/snack-fests.  or their family histories, nephews’ names, stories that became my own story.

in other words, i couldn’t be friends with all of those celebs above, because my heart is so full with the wonderful ladies that i choose to call my friends, that i simply don’t have enough room.

so, instead of wanting a skinnier body to clothe, a fancier checking account total (although an all-healthy-full-fridge-all-the-time remains a dream), or an iguana, i’ll keep my hard earned, true blue girlfriends that i’ve collected, some i’ve known for a few years, some a decade.  (a few even longer).

because no matter what kind of envy i do suffer from on a daily, weekly, or yearly basis, it is never one of friends.

they’ve laughed with me, at me, & cried for me & in front of me.

they are beautiful, & they can’t be compared, because instead of a celebrity, i wannabe like them.  moral:  friends.  i got ‘em.  i’m keeping ‘em.  and no mega-watt  superstar person is ever going to compare to my girlfriends. (although let’s be serious, if drew barrymore ever asked to hang out, she’d be in the circle ASAP, but she’s the only one).  :)

enjoy your friends today!  tell them that they make your world better!  to all my girlfriends:  you know who you are, let’t grab a mojito soon, & thanks for being you!

**  drew’s pic source

7 Comments
by beforeverlovely on April 12, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in just for giggles, random thought thursday, sharing
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Posted by beforeverlovely on April 12, 2012

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it’s always better with candy

i ♥ the handmade/blogging community.  the group of people putting creativity to work.  the belief in themselves that they can accomplish a goal, a dream, a handmade something.

a lovely, industrious place on this scary, complicated interwebs thing.

sometimes i even comment on their lovely, inspiring blogs.

&,  i LOVE giveaways.  LOVE THEM.  although, frankly, throughout my life, i’ve yet to be very lucky at winning much that i didn’t work for or put in a lot of effort first.

enter:  I BLOG 4 ME.  coolest lady ever that just loves blogs, and made a site where fellow bloggers could come and meet, share stories, and encourage each other, for no other reason, than she is nice, & she likes blogs.

she gives away stuff sometimes:  drumroll please…..i WON!

a nifty, neat-o, colorful, really well made GUMBALL MACHINE.

you know alex reese and rl are overtheMOON about this one!  :)

(and let’s pretend like i’m all sophisticated and didn’t jump for joy when i found out and didn’t squeal…..)

it came with two bags of 2 lbs of gumballs, so we should be set for at least a few months weeks.  :)

so this is my official thank you to Vic  check her out here  & BJ here.

& if you have the time, check out some of the blogs featured, fantastic time, i tell ya!

i really appreciate it, and in some strange way, it seems like i finally belong to this community that i read/stalk/drool over daily.  you really have helped encourage me to keep blogging!

ps.  this winning thing just happened again, & is just another hint, that i need to get my shop up and running.  what do you want me to make, or better yet, what is your favorite handmade thing to buy?

xo,

barbie

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by beforeverlovely on April 9, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by beforeverlovely on April 9, 2012

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